MENTOR, Ohio -- Rocky River tallied its largest single-game margin of victory in nearly five years, as the Pirates drubbed the Mentor Cardinals 17-0 Tuesday night.

A clicking-on-all-cylinders Pirate offense outshot Mentor 35-2. The yield amounted to 10 River goals in the first half and seven more in the second. The 17-goal margin marked the most in a Pirates game since May 18, 2017 (20-0 win over Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary). Ten different Double-R players scored goals in the Northern Ohio Lacrosse League onslaught. Kaitlyn Byrne (four goals, two assists), Ella Nejad (3G, 1A), and Olivia Konopka (2G, 2A) paced a River offense which has netted 31 goals in its last two games.

When they weren't near the Cardinal cage, the Pirates were still making winning plays. Rocky River (4-0, 2-0 NOLL) finished as a plus-17 in turnover margin (18 to 35), and the Maroon & White filed wins in 33-of-53 (62.3%) credited ground balls.

The Pirates are slated to play another league contest Thursday when they host the Brunswick Blue Devils (7 p.m., Rocky River Stadium).


CANNON FIRE ...

FROM THE BUCS SCORE: Reagan Connelly was credited with seven ground balls. Kalyn Scalabrino and Ava Patti were credited with four each. Ava Patti also logged a goal and an assist.

SUNNY SIDE OF THE STREAK(S): Alexis Tisler notched two goals and one assist. Tisler (10 points this season) has scored a point in all four games this season. Konopka (11 points), Grace DeWitt (6P), and Daisy Thompson (6P) have also scored in each of the team's first four contests. ... Nejad (8G, 8A) has logged a goal and an assist in each game. ... Kaitlyn Byrne (12G) has registered multiple goals in all four games.

STOP SIGN: Tuesday's shutout marked River's first since that same SVSM game in 2017. Through four tilts, the Pirates have averaged 12.5 goals per game while allowing 3.5 GPG.



by Skip Snow

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